By Sunday afternoon, multiple reports confirmed the Cleveland Browns were not cutting Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, or Taylen Green before the initial 53-man roster was due by 6 p.m. on Sunday.

However, one quarterback was curiously sidelined during Sunday's practice. Per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com, Gabriel did not throw during a quarterback/receiver drill.

"QB Dillon Gabriel didn't throw in the QB/WR drill we watched in the early open part of practice on Saturday," Cabot posted on X. "It was Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, and Taylen Green. Not sure if/how that will impact his status at 6."

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Cleveland placed Gabriel on injured reserve due to a back injury. He suffered the injury during the Browns' preseason finale against the New England Patriots on Thursday night.

The quarterback underwent an MRI on Saturday, nearly two days after the preseason contest against the Patriots.

"Browns placed QB Dillon Gabriel on injured reserve, designated for return, due to a back injury," Schefter posted on X. "Browns QB Dillon Gabriel initially hurt his back during the preseason finale, had pain yesterday, and underwent an MRI. 

"The injury was notable enough to land him on injured reserve."

The injury appears to have caught Browns beat reporters by surprise, as the quarterback didn't mention the injury when speaking to reporters after the contest. He went 12 of 15 passing for 186 yards and three touchdowns against New England.

On Thursday night, Browns head coach Todd Monken suggested the team would have to cut down one player at quarterback.

“We’ve got a lot to talk about," Monken said, via Pro Football Talk. I thought they both did some really good things... But just like every position, we’re going to have to cut it down. We can’t keep everybody.”

The Browns indeed found a way to keep everybody at quarterback on the team before finalizing the initial 53-man roster on Sunday.

It remains to be seen what Cleveland will do at the position when Gabriel returns from injured reserve. Monken appeared to suggest the Browns prefer Gabriel's experience, but the team still has Green, a sixth-round pick, on their roster.